Monthly Archives: February 2018

Head’s Blog – 23rd February

We hope that you all had a wonderful half term break with your families, it whizzed by, didn’t it? We ended last term with a wonderful sleep over, organised by Mrs Hopkins and Miss Brint.  I am extremely grateful to them for taking the time to do this, especially at such short notice (a request from the school council) and at the end of term.  The children had a fabulous time!

On Monday, staff were really lucky to take part in the West Gloucestershire School Partnerhip’s CPD with Mr Lee Parkinson, otherwise known as Mr P ICT.  He is a bit of an internet sensation with teachers as he provides lots of really valuable information how to use iPads to engage learners and enable them to make progress, particularly with their writing.  We have started to implement some of his ideas already and are really excited about implementing a lot more.  The children are enthralled with ‘Seesaw’ as they can share their learning directly with you.   Below is a link to Mr P ICT’s blog:

http://http://mrparkinsonict.blogspot.co.uk

#Liedentity

On Tuesday, I attended a National Conference hosted by Bishop Rachel all about Social Media and how it impacts on children’s (and adult’s) perception of their body and what they perceive to be perfect.  It was extremely enlightening and really made me think about the language that I use when talking to people.  Here are some of the links to some of the information that I received:

http://https://free-being-me.com/

http://https://www.berealcampaign.co.uk/

http://https://ashawebsite.co.uk/work/by-programme/brand-identity/peel/

 

Pizza Express

Willow all got to go to Pizza Express in Monmouth to learn about nutrition and how to make pizzas. I was little envious when they all come back with their delicious pizzas to take home; no one offered to share!

Photographs of this trip will follow, keep an eye out!

Friends

We cannot thank all of you that contribute to school events and the team of people who organise these events enough.   We have taken delivery of 6 new laptops to support children’s learning from the funds that you have contributed to us.  The children are beyond excited!

 

The Rotary Club

Mrs Frith took a call late this afternoon from the Forest of Dean Rotary Club to say that a grant that I applied for was successful.  They have awarded us with £500 to buy some more iPads.  This couldn’t have come at a better time following our inspiring CPD outlined above.

Our Celebrations

 

 

 

 

Head’s Blog -9th February

I cannot believe that it is half term already!  This term may have been short but it has been so busy, especially with lots of illness being around with both staff and pupils, let’s hope half term gives us an opportunity to all get back to full strength.

 

Willow go to Gloucester Prison

As part of our  topic this term we have been looking at Crime and Punishment through time.  Today we got to visit Gloucester Prison, which is a Victorian prison.  We will be looking at this in more depth next term but here are a some photographs from our visit today.

 

Oak class make pancakes

 

New PE kit

Being part of a team is essential when participating in sport.  At the moment there is a vast array of attire being worn to PE lessons which doesn’t make us look like a team.  Having spoken to the pupils they have decided that they would like red t-shirts with a black logo on it.  We are conscious of cost so School is going to buy all children in school a new PE top which will be given to children.  If you could please look at the Tesco website and let Mrs Frith know the size that your child would need as soon as possible that would great.  We would like to order it early next term.  You will see that there are now hoodies available to purchase too if you would like to.  These are for PE lessons and not part of day to day school uniform.  The final part of the school PE kit are black shorts, joggers or sports leggings. We are planning on entering the Forest of Dean Gymnastics competition in March and would like to be fully kitted out for this.

Our Celebrations

 

Have a lovely half term!

Head’s Blog – 2nd February 2018

Staying safe online

PSCO Thompson spoke to Willow class to stay safe online. She questioned them as to how they use the Internet and what devices we can use to get online. She compared walking and talking to a stranger in the park with social media. The children then had a chance to share their experiences of the internet. PCSO Thompson shared a story about over sharing information on social media including things like your home address and when you are on holiday. The children were asked to make sure that their privacy and location settings are set to private especially after updates have taken place.

We watched a video and the children had an opportunity to spot where information is being shared. The REPORT button was shown to the children and they were told how to use it as well as the importance of telling an adult that they trusted they feel uncomfortable about someone trying to contact them online.

Finally, we got to see the rural police vehicle and PCSO Thompson explained what the different controls did. The children were all very excited when the lights and sirens were activated.

WAGOLL

What a good one looks like!

We have been sharing some of the independent creative homework that Willow have been doing about our theme, Crime and Punishment. We are hoping that this will inspire other children to produce such high quality work.  There other pieces of work to add to our wall! I am also sharing Mrs Lawrence’s display, can you spot the literary reference?

 Our Celebrations